Bottle carrier

ABSTRACT

A carrier for a plurality for bottles arranged in a row. The carrier is made from a resilient deformable plastic sheet material which folds and mechanically locks into a prism-like shape in which the end faces are triangles. Aligned apertures through the base and apex of the carrier provide an interlocking relationship of the carrier with the bottles such that the side walls of the carrier are bowed outwardly to project the marginal edges of the apertures in the apex of the carrier firmly against the underside of the cap portion enlargements of the bottles with the marginal edges of the apertures in the base of the carrier being firmly circumferentially urged downwardly against the enlarging neck portions of the bottles. The bottle gripping apertures in the apex of the carrier are defined by partially lapped larger apertures in lapped sections of the carrier. Simple tabs permit the carrier to be unlocked and the larger apertures in lapped sections of the carrier may then be axially aligned to permit the carrier to be easily lifted from the bottles. The carrier may be reused by mechanically interlocking the tabs in the tab receiving apertures and projecting the carrier downwardly over the bottles until the apex apertures snap below the enlarged cap portions of the bottles.

United States Patent 1 Klygis 41 BOTTLE CARRIER [75] lnventor: MindaugasJulius Klygis, Evergreen Park, Ill.

[73] Assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc., Chicago,

Ill.

[22] Filed: May 1, 1972 [21 Appl.-No.: 249,062

[52] [1.8. Cl. 294/87.2, 206/65 E [51] Int. Cl B65d 71/00 [58] Field ofSearch 294/87, 87.2;

206/65 C, 65 E; 224/45 A, 45 AA, 45 AB, 45 BA; 229/40, 52 BC PrimaryExaminerEvon C. Blunk Assistant Examiner-Johnny D. Cherry Att0rney-R. W.Beart et a].

[4 1 Jan. 8, 1974 [57] ABSTRACT A carrier for a plurality for bottlesarranged in a row. The carrier is made from a resilient deformableplastic sheet material which folds and mechanically locks into aprism-like shape in which the end faces are triangles. Aligned aperturesthrough the base and apex of the carrier provide an interlockingrelationship of the carrier with the bottles such that the side walls ofthe carrier are bowed outwardly to project the marginal edges of theapertures in the apex of the carrier firmly against the underside of thecap portion enlargements of the bottles with the marginal edges of theapertures in the base of the carrier being firmly circumferentiallyurged downwardly against the enlarging neck portions of the bottles. Thebottle gripping apertures in the apex of the carrier are defined bypartially lapped larger apertures in lapped sections of the carrier.Simple tabs permit the carrier to be unlocked and the larger aperturesin lapped sections of the carrier may then be axially aligned to permitthe carrier to be easily lifted from the bottles. The carrier may bere-- used by mechanically interlocking the tabs in the tab receivingapertures and projecting the carrier downwardly over the bottles untilthe apex apertures snap below the enlarged cap portions of the bottles.

9 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 1 BOTTLECARRIER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe subject invention is primarily directed to carrier constructions forrelatively large beverage bottles such, for example, as those of a onequart size, and particularly such beverage bottles which have enlargedcap or crown portions and downwardly enlarging or diverging neckportions beneath the cap portions. The invention is further directed tosuch carriersin which the bottles are held by the neck portions thereofand depend or hang from the carrier. Paperboard carriers have been madefor packaging or otherwise securing a group of such beverage bottlestogether in a depending condition, and to support the relatively heavyweight of a number of such bottles has generally required positivepaperboard gripping means which must generally be torn or otherwisedestroyed to remove bottles from the carrier, withthe result that thecarrier cannot be used again for carrying the empty bottles when theirreturn to a store is desirable or necessary. Various molded or formedbifurcated clips are also known for carrying a group of bottles in adepending condition. While reusable, such carriers are generallyexpensive and do not hold the bottles against pivoting in the carrier.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The carrier of the invention is a simple andeconomical carrier that can be used and reused for carrying recarrierfirmly holds the bottles against pivoting in the carrier. The carrier ismade from a resilient, deformable plastic she et material, such as highdensity polyethylene. The carrier blank has various apertures thereinand a pair of tabs which cooperate with four fold lines to permit theblank to be folded and locked into a bottle carrier for a plurality ofbottles arranged in a row. The assembled carrier is generally in theshape of a prism having end faces which are triangles, and has a lengthsufficient to span the row of bottles.

The carrier is applied to the row of bottles by project- I ing itdownwardly over the tops ofthe bottles. In the initial projection of thecarrier downward over the bottles, the base of the carrier, which hasapertures of a substantial size therein, engages the enlarging ordiverging neck portions of the bottles substantially below the capportions. In the further downward porjection of the carrier over thebottles, the apex of the carrier, which has apertures therein withopposed upwardly and inwardly inclined edges, is cammed over theenlarged cap portions of the bottles to lock beneath the cap portions.In the locking of the apex apertures beneath the cap portionsenlargements, the opposed side walls of the carrier are bowed outwardlyand, by virtue of the resiliency of the material, the longitudinallyextending sides of the apex apertures are urged upwardly into firmlocking engagement with the underside of the cap portion enlargementsand the marginal edges of the apertures in the base of the carrier arefirmly urged downwardly and circumferentially about the enlarging neckportions of the bottles to firmly hold the bottles in axial parallelalignment against pivoting to permit safe, convenient transport of theresulting package.

The resulting package is carried by grasping fingergripping means suchas apertures which are formed in the opposed side walls of the carrier.

The resulting package is easily removed from the bottles by pulling thetabs from their interlocking apertures. The apex of the carrier thenopens into axially aligned overlapping apertures which are substantiallylarger than the enlarged cap portions of the bottles and the openedcarrier is then merely lifted from the botties.

The carrier of the invention is also easily reassembled for carryingbottles, such as returning empties to the store, by over-lapping theapex portions of the carrier, and manually snapping the tabs into theirinterlocking apertures. The carrier is then merely pushed downwardlyover the bottles as previously described to again lock the carrier andthe bottles together as a package.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a simplereusable carrier, for a plurality of beverage bottles having enlargedcap portions and downwardly diverging neck portions, which is easilyassembled in a locked condition for application to the bottles, easilyunlocked for removal from the bottles, and which, in the locked andapplied condition to the bottles, will firmly hold the bottles in a rowfor hand transport by gripping the carrier with the bottles in adepending condition therefrom.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent upon theperusal of the hereinafter following specification and drawing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a plan view of a carrier blankconstructed according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view ofa package showing the carrier ofFIG. 1 in an assembled condition and ap plied to three bottles in a row;and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary end view of the structure shown in FIG. 2 andtaken substantially along the line 33 of FIG. 2. 1

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The carrier blank 10shown in FIG. 1 is punched or otherwise formed from a sheet of plasticmaterial of uniform thickness. In reductions to practice of theinvention, one suitable material has been found to be high densitypolyethylene in a 0.04 inch thickness. High density polyethylene has theproper resiliency and deformability to permit the carrier blank 10 to befolded and locked into an assembled condition, to effectively interlockwith a plurality of substantially heavy beverage bottles, to be easilydisassembled and removed from the bottles, and to be easily reassembledfor repeated use.

The carrier blank 10 is provided with four spacedapart and parallel foldlines 12, 14, 16 and 18. The fold lines l2, l4, l6 and 18 divide thecarrier blank 10 into five panel sections 20, 22, 24 26 and 28.

Panel section 20 includes one longitudinal edge of the carrier and iscontiguous to panel section 22 on fold line 12. The outer longitudinaledge of panel section 20 is provided with a pair of integral tabs 30which extend outwardly therefrom in the plane of panel section 20. Eachtab 30 has opposed ears 32 which extend in directions longitudinal ofthe panel section 20. Although the cars 32 on the tabs 30 are shown assubstantially semicircular, the invention contemplates other forms forthe tabs 30. For example, the tabs 30 may have the general shape of anarrowhead.

The panel section 20 further includes the major portions of a pluralityof apertures 34. In the present embodiment, the apertures 34 are threein number to provide a carrier embodiment for three bottles, however,the invention contemplates a greater or lesser number of apertures for acorresponding different number of bottles. The apertures 34 intersectand make the fold line 12 discontinuous. Portions of the apertures 34,about one-fourth of the width thereof measured transversely of the panelsections 20 and 22, extend into panel section 22. The apertures 34 aresubstantially square in shape and the length of a side thereof isgreater than the largest diameter of the cap portion of the bottleintended to be associated therewith.

Panel section 28 is substantially a mirror image of panel section 20without the tabs 30. Panel section 28 includes one longitudinal edge ofthe carrier blank and is contiguous to panel section 26 on fold line 18.Panel sections 28 and 26 are provided with apertures 36 which are formedtherein as apertures 34 are formed in panel sections and 22. Panelsection 28 preferably has a width which is narrower than the width ofpanel section 20, absent of the tabs 30, by a distance of substantiallyequal to the thickness of the blank 10.

Panel section 26 is also narrower than panel section 22 by about thethickness of the blank 10. This width arrangement of the panel sections20, 22, 26 and 28 provides for proper relative positioning of panelsection 20 over panel section 26 with fold line 12 at the apex of thedefined prism as may be seen in FIG. 3.

Panel section 22 is contiguous to panel section 24 along fold line 14.Panel section 26 is contiguous to panel section 24 along fold line 16.Panel section 24 is provided with three circular apertures 38 which arearranged in a spaced-apart relationship longitudinally of the panelsection 24 and substantially in transverse alignment with the apertures34 and 36. The apertures 38 are tangent to the fold lines 14 and 16. Theapertures 38 have a diameter less than the diameter of the bottleintended to be associated therewith at a point measured axially downwardof the bottle from the un-' derside of the enlarged cap portion, adistance substantially equal to the vertically projected width of thepanel section 22.

The panel sections 22 and 26 are further provided with longitudinallyextending finger-gripping apertures 40. The finger-gripping apertures 40are arranged as mirror images of each other in the panel sections 22 and26 and are further positioned respectively, one between center aperture34 and center aperture 38, and the other between center aperture 36 andcenter aperture 38. Each of the finger-gripping apertures 40 is furtherprovided with a flap 42 extending along the longitudinal edge thereofclosest to the apertures 34 and 36 and foldable from the plane of thepanel sections 22 and 26 to provide a substantially wider fingerengaging area than is provided by the edge or thickness of the materialof the blank 10.

Panel section 26 is provided with a pair of tab interlocking apertures44. The tab interlocking apertures 44 are positioned in a spaced-apartrelationship longitudinally of the panel section 26 on opposite sides ofthe finger-gripping aperture 40 therein and substantially in transversealignment with the tabs 30. The tab interlocking apertures 44 havewidths measured in a direction longitudinally of the panel section 26which are substantially equal to the width of the tabs 30 without theears 32.

In assembling the carrier, the panel sections 22 and 26 are foldedupwardly in the same direction from the panel section 24 so that thepanel section 24 defines the base of the carrier. The panel sections 20and 28 are then folded along the fold lines 12 and 18 respectivelytoward each other, and the fold lines 12 and 18 are brought together ina lapped arrangement with the fold line 12 over the fold line 18 tocause the panels 22 and 26 to form the side walls of the carrier withthe general shape of a prism having end faces which are triangles. Theears 32 of the tabs 30 are then projected or snapped through the tabinterlocking apertures 44 so that the panel sections 20 and 28 extendgenerally downwardly from the apex formed by fold lines 12 and 18 andgenerally parallel and against the side walls of the carrier formed bypanel sections 22 and 26. In the assembled condition of the carrier,openings of a size, measured in a direction transversely of the carrier,substantially smaller than the maximum diameter of the enlarged capportions of the bottles intended to be associated therewith are formedby the opposed longitudinally extending sides 34a and 36a of theapertures 34 and 36.

In the foregoing described assembled condition of the carrier it ismerely necessary to downwardly project the carrier over the bottlesintended to be associated therewith. Such bottles are shown at 46 inFIGS. 2 and 3. The enlarged cap portions of the bottles 46 are indicatedat 48. The downwardly diverging portions of the bottles 46 are indicatedat 50. In the initial projection of the carrier downwardly over thethree bottles 46 arranged in a row, the inner periphery of the apertures38 in the base of the carrier will firmly circumferentially engage theenlarging or diverging neck portions 50 of the bottles 46. Furtherdownward projection of the carrier by a force applied on the apex of thecarrier will cause side edge 34a of each aperture 34 and side edge 36aof each aperture 36 to cam over and lock immediately beneath theenlarged cap portions 48. The side edges 34a and 36a are slightlydeformed as may be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. The resiliency of the materialin the described arrangement will cause the side edges 34a and 36a ofthe apertures 34 and 36 to be firmly urged against the necks of thebottles immediately beneath the enlarged cap portions 48.

When the partially lapped apertures 34 and 36 are interlocked beneaththe enlarged cap portions 48 as described, the side walls of the carrierwill be bowed outwardly longitudinally thereof as shown in FIG. 3. Thisbowing of the side walls of the carrier produces an extremely stable andsubstantially rigid package. The resiliency of the side walls urges theapex of the carrier and the openings therein in firm locking contactwith the necks of the bottles 46 beneath the cap portions 48 and furtherurges the base portion of the carrier downwardly relative to the bottles46 to firmly hold the bottles 46 with the longitudinal axis thereofparallel and against pivoting thereof. The finger-gripping apertures 40in the side walls of the carrier do not disturb the firm resilientlocking and holding arrangement of the carrier on the bottles 46 whenthe carrier is hand-transported by a person grasping the carrier withhis fingers in tinger-gripping apertures 40 and with the bottles 46 in adepending condition from the carrier.

The carrier is easily removed from the bottles 46 by a person pullingthe central portion of the tabs 30 downwardly of the side wall of thecarrier to pull or snap the ears 32 of the tabs 30 out of the tabinterlocking apertures 44. When the tabs 30 have been unlocked from theapertures 44, the panel sections and 28 are shiftable relative to eachother to substantially axially align the peripheries of the apertures 34with the peripheries of the apertures 36 and the carrier may then bemerely lifted from the bottles 46.

When it is desired to reuse the carrier, it is merely necessary-to lapthe panel section 20 over the panel section 26 and snap the tabs in theapertures 44. With the carrier again in an assembled condition, it ismerely necessary to project the carrier downwardly over the bottles 46as previously described to reform the defined carrier package.

Having described the invention, it is to be understood that changes canbe made in the described embodiments by one skilled in the art withinthe spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. A carrier for a plurality of bottles arranged in a row, said carrierformed from a sheet of resilient deformable plastic material, said sheetof plastic material having four fold lines therein in a parallel spacedapart relationship, to form five panel sections, the third panel sectionbeing located centrally of said carrier with the second and fourth panelsections being contiguous thereto along the opposite longitudinalmarginal edges thereof, the first panel section being contiguous to saidsecond panel section and including one longitudinal edge of said sheet,the fifth panel section being contiguous to said fourth panel sectionand including the other longitudinal edge of said sheet, said thirdpanel section including a plurality of bottle encircling aperturestherein arranged in a row extending longitudinally of said third panelsection, said carrier being foldable into the configuration of a prismhaving triangular end faces with said third panel section defining thebase of said prism and with said second and fourth panel sectionsdefining the side walls of said prism, said fifth section being foldedbeneath said second section and said first section being folded oversaid fourth section whereby the fold line between said first and secondsections defines the apex of said prism and the fold line between saidfourth and fifth sections is disposed immediately beneath the apex ofsaid prism, a second plurality ofapertures through said first and secondsections, said second plurality of apertures arranged in a rowlongitudinally of said first and second sectionsand intersecting thefold line between said first and second sections, a third plurality ofapertures formed in said fourth and fifth sections, said third pluralityof apertures arranged in a row longitudinally of said third and fourthsections and intersecting the fold line between said third and fourthsections, said second and third plurality of apercap portions of thebottles intended to be associated with said carrier, whereby saidcarrier is projectable downwardly over a plurality of bottles intendedto be associated therewith with said apertures in said base portioncircumferentially engaging the neck portions of said bottles below theenlarged cap portions thereof and with said openings deformed andresiliently gripping the portions of said bottles immediately below theenlarged cap portions.

2. A carrier as defined in claim 1, wherein said second and fourth panelsections have a transverse width dimensioned to cause said second andfourth panel sections to be bowed outwardly when said carrier isprojected downwardly over a plurality of bottles intended to beassociated therewith with said apertures in said base portioncircumferentially engaging neck portions of said bottles below theenlarged cap portions thereof and with said openings deformed andresiliently gripping the portions of said bottles immediately below theenlarged cap portions.

3. A'carrier as defined in claim 1, and finger gripping means formed insaid second and fourth panel sections for transporting said carrier andany bottles therein.

4. A carrier as defined in claim 3, wherein said finger gripping meanscomprises a slot formed in each of said second and fourth panel sectionswith said slots extending longitudinally of said panel sections, andflap means integrallyformed along the upper longitudinally extendingside of each slot to provide substantial finger gripping surfaces.

5. A carrier as defined in claim 1, wherein said means between saidfirst and fourth panel sections for releas ably securing the outer edgeof said first panel section to said fourth panel section comprises aplurality of tab interlocking apertures formed in said fourth section ina longitudinally spaced apart relationship thereof, and a plurality oftabs integrally formed on the outer edge of said first panel section andshaped to mechanically interlock in said tab interlocking apertures whensaid first panel section is folded over said fourth section and saidtabs are projected into said tab interlocking apertures.

6. A carrier as defined in claim 5, wherein said tabs are formed to haveears projecting from opposite sides thereof in directions longitudinallyof said first panel section.

7. A carrier as defined in claim 1, wherein said plurality of bottleencircling apertures in said third panel section tangentially engage thefold lines along the longitudinal sides of said third panel section.

8. A carrier as defined in claim 1, wherein the sides of said second andthird plurality of apertures defining the sides of said openingstransversely opposed of said sections are-straight lines.

9. A carrier blank for bottles having an enlarged cap portion associatedwith their open ends, said carrier blank being formed from a resilientdeformable plastic sheet material and having a bight portion through themiddle of the blank, said bight portion provided with a plurality offirst apertures in predetermined spaced relation to accept and engage aportion of the neck of the bottles below their open ends, opposedmargins on opposite sides of said bight portion being provided withpredetermined spaced second apertures each of which is substantiallylarger in every dimension than the largest diameter of said enlarged capportions. the material at the edge of each of said second aperturesbeing continuous and uninterrupted. means for releasably locking saidopposed margins together in an overlapped arrangement with said blank ina substantially tubular prism shape, said second apertures beingpositioned in said opposed margins to cooperate in pairs to definecentral openings each center of which lies on the axis of one of saidfirst apertures and about the apex of said prism shape of said blankwhen said opposed margins are locked together in said overlappedarrangement,

and said second apertures being further positioned in said opposedmargins to position the centers of said second apertures of each pairthereofon opposite sides of the apex of said prism shape of said blankin the direction of overlapping when said opposed margins are lockedtogether in said overlapped arrangement to cause each of said centralopenings to have a dimension in the direction of overlapping which issubstantially less than the dimension of each second aperture in thesame direction and less than the largest diameter of

1. A carrier for a plurality of bottles arranged in a row, said carrierformed from a sheet of resilient deformable plastic material, said sheetof plastic material having four fold lines therein in a parallel spacedapart relationship, to form five panel sections, the third panel sectionbeing located centrally of said carrier with the second and fourth panelsections being contiguous thereto along the opposite longitudinalmarginal edges thereof, the first panel section being contiguous to saidsecond panel section and including one longitudinal edge of said sheet,the fifth panel section being contiguous to said fourth panel sectionand including the other longitudinal edge of said sheet, said thirdpanel section including a plurality of bottle encircling aperturestherein arranged in a row extending longitudinally of said third panelsection, said carrier being foldable into the configuration of a prismhaving triangular end faces with said third panel section defining thebase of said prism and with said second and fourth panel sectionsdefining the side walls of said prism, said fifth section being foldedbeneath said second section and said first section being folded oversaid fourth section whereby the fold line between said first and secondsections defines the apex of said prism and the fold line between saidfourth and fifth sections is disposed immediately beneath the apex ofsaid prism, a second plurality of apertures through said first andsecond sections, said second plurality of apertures arranged in a rowlongitudinally of said first and second sections and intersecting thefold line between said first and second sections, a third plurality ofapertures formed in said fourth and fifth sections, said third pluralityof apertures arranged in a row longitudinally of said third and fourthsections and intersecting the fold line between said third and fourthsections, said second and third plurality of apertures being dimensionedlarger than the enlarged cap portions of the bottles intended to beassociated with said carrier, said second plurality of apertures lappingsaid third plurality of apertures to define openings through the apex ofsaid prism above respective ones of said apertures in said base sectionwith said openings being dimensioned in a direction transversely of saidsections less than the diameter of the enlarged cap portions of thebottles intended to be associated therewith, means between said firstand fourth panel sections for releasably securing the outer edge of saidfirst panel section to said fourth panel section, said apertures in saidbase section being of a size capable of being received over the neckportions and below the enlarged cap portions of the bottles intended tobe associated with said carrier, whereby said carrier is projectabledownwardly over a plurality of bottles intended to be associatedtherewith with said apertures in said base portion circumferentiallyengaging the neck portions of said bottles below the enlarged capportions thereof and with said openings deformed and resilientlygripping the portions of said bottles immediately below the enlarged capportions.
 2. A carrier as defined in claim 1, wherein said second andfourth panel sections have a transverse width dimensioned to cause saidsecond and fourth panel sectIons to be bowed outwardly when said carrieris projected downwardly over a plurality of bottles intended to beassociated therewith with said apertures in said base portioncircumferentially engaging neck portions of said bottles below theenlarged cap portions thereof and with said openings deformed andresiliently gripping the portions of said bottles immediately below theenlarged cap portions.
 3. A carrier as defined in claim 1, and fingergripping means formed in said second and fourth panel sections fortransporting said carrier and any bottles therein.
 4. A carrier asdefined in claim 3, wherein said finger gripping means comprises a slotformed in each of said second and fourth panel sections with said slotsextending longitudinally of said panel sections, and flap meansintegrally formed along the upper longitudinally extending side of eachslot to provide substantial finger gripping surfaces.
 5. A carrier asdefined in claim 1, wherein said means between said first and fourthpanel sections for releasably securing the outer edge of said firstpanel section to said fourth panel section comprises a plurality of tabinterlocking apertures formed in said fourth section in a longitudinallyspaced apart relationship thereof, and a plurality of tabs integrallyformed on the outer edge of said first panel section and shaped tomechanically interlock in said tab interlocking apertures when saidfirst panel section is folded over said fourth section and said tabs areprojected into said tab interlocking apertures.
 6. A carrier as definedin claim 5, wherein said tabs are formed to have ears projecting fromopposite sides thereof in directions longitudinally of said first panelsection.
 7. A carrier as defined in claim 1, wherein said plurality ofbottle encircling apertures in said third panel section tangentiallyengage the fold lines along the longitudinal sides of said third panelsection.
 8. A carrier as defined in claim 1, wherein the sides of saidsecond and third plurality of apertures defining the sides of saidopenings transversely opposed of said sections are straight lines.
 9. Acarrier blank for bottles having an enlarged cap portion associated withtheir open ends, said carrier blank being formed from a resilientdeformable plastic sheet material and having a bight portion through themiddle of the blank, said bight portion provided with a plurality offirst apertures in predetermined spaced relation to accept and engage aportion of the neck of the bottles below their open ends, opposedmargins on opposite sides of said bight portion being provided withpredetermined spaced second apertures each of which is substantiallylarger in every dimension than the largest diameter of said enlarged capportions, the material at the edge of each of said second aperturesbeing continuous and uninterrupted, means for releasably locking saidopposed margins together in an overlapped arrangement with said blank ina substantially tubular prism shape, said second apertures beingpositioned in said opposed margins to cooperate in pairs to definecentral openings each center of which lies on the axis of one of saidfirst apertures and about the apex of said prism shape of said blankwhen said opposed margins are locked together in said overlappedarrangement, and said second apertures being further positioned in saidopposed margins to position the centers of said second apertures of eachpair thereof on opposite sides of the apex of said prism shape of saidblank in the direction of overlapping when said opposed margins arelocked together in said overlapped arrangement to cause each of saidcentral openings to have a dimension in the direction of overlappingwhich is substantially less than the dimension of each second aperturein the same direction and less than the largest diameter of saidenlarged cap portions.